ASSOCIATION NEWS
News snippets from around the world security businesses. However, being a registered security officer does not equate to employment, and PSIRA’s data shows that far fewer security officers are actively employed (564,540) across the country. https://businesstech.co.za/
South Africa: Report identifies role-players in wildlife crime ecosystem
Almost 10,000 rapes occurred in July, August and September, quarterly crime stats show Murder, rape and sexual offences were the contact crimes that showed the highest increase in the three months from July to September, according to the latest quarterly crime statistics published last Friday. In the three-month period 6,163 murders occurred, a 20.7 percent increase from the same period last year, and 9,556 rapes were reported, a rise of 7.1 percent. The number of sexual offences was 11,964 — up 4.7 percent. “The recent crime data is again demonstrating that South Africa is a violent country,” Police Minister Bheki Cele said when he presented the quarterly crime statistics. https://mg.co.za/
Head of Joburg’s ‘potholes’ agency suspended The IFP COO and Chairperson of the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Albert Mokoena, has been suspended after an investigation found that he and other board members had overreached into the agency’s executive work. The agency has a budget of about R1.5-billion a year and runs its asphalt plant, but the 12,300 km road network continues to decline. Read the report by Ferial Haffajee. www.dailymaverick.co.za
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Jeremy Vearey going after those who tried to ‘frame him’ Former Head of Detectives in the Western Cape, Major General Jeremy Vearey, has warned that he will take legal action against senior police officers following the release of a damning report into the assassination of Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) detective Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear. The report was done by police watchdog Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) after a request for an investigation by National Commissioner, Khehla Sitole and National Police Minister, Bheki Cele. www.iol.co.za
How many security guards vs police officers there are in South Africa — and why things are changing Data published by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) shows that the country’s private security sector now dwarfs the official police force by a significant margin. PSIRA, which acts as the regulator for the private security sector in South Africa, indicates that there are over 2.4 million registered security officers across the country, with just under a million in Gauteng alone. The country is also home to over 11,370 registered
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA NOVEMBER 2021
Some game rangers, vets, casino staff, construction and transport industry workers, as well as customs and other government officials, have been identified as role-players in the ecosystem of illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products. The finding was made by the South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force (SAMLIT) in its profiling of role-players. In a statement last Tuesday, the SAMLIT said the various actors, and the methods they used for illegal wildlife trade (IWT), have been captured in a report compiled by an expert working group. The SAMLIT working group focused on the money flows related to this trade. It was established in 2019 by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) as a public-private partnership between the banking sector and sector regulatory authorities. https://allafrica.com/
Is a Fifth wave of Covid-19 on the horizon? After a brief lull, new cases of Covid-19 are starting to creep back up, both in the US and in Europe, leaving many to wonder whether we’re headed toward a fifth wave, just in time for winter there. The answer, experts say, isn’t as simple as a yes or no. And that’s because we’re in a much different place in the pandemic this year, compared to last. “It certainly does feel like a bit of déjà vu, but it’s not the same type of déjà vu,” said Syra Madad, an infectious disease epidemiologist and senior director of the System-wide Special Pathogens Program at New York City Health + Hospitals.“The world may never look like it did before the pandemic, and we may still be in for a winter surge in cases this year. But from a Covid-19 perspective, there are many reasons to
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